Car-door-operating device.



Patented Ot. 30, 1917.

2-sHEETs-SHEET l.

A. E. OSTRANDER CAR DOOR OPERATING DEVICE, APPLlcATmN'HLEu APP.. 11. 1911.

-A. E. OSTRANDER. CAR DOOR OPERATING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED APR.11.|9|1.

Patented oct. 30, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 NWA l rigor/Zay iuNrrsn srarss raranr cerros. g

ALLEN n. osrRANnnn, or nrnenwoon, Nnw annees, assIaNon To AMERICAN CAR AND roUNnnY COMPANY, or sfr. Louis, ivirssouni, A lCORPORATION or NEW JERSEY. v

CAR-DOOR-OPERATING DEVICE.

- Application led .April 17, 1917. Serial No. 162,617.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, ALLEN E. OSTRANDER, residing at Ridgewood, Bergen county, State of New Jersey, and being a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-,Door-Operating Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and to use the same, reference being had to the" accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modilicationsthereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In said drawings: f

Figure l is a diagrammatic view showing in elevation approximately one-half ofthe lowerportio-n of a car 'with my car-door operating .mechanism applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of av portion of the side of the car showing a plurality of doors aiected by the operating mechanism therefor, parts being broken away for added clearness;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3 -3 of Fig. 2 and illustrates the door in both its closed and open positions; and

Fig. Il is a detail vertical section throughV the sleeve driven by the operating shaft showing the integrally formed gears on that sleeve and the means of mounting the sleeve 'in a bearing carried by the cross bearer.

This invention relates to-operating mechanism for car doors and is of such a nature that it may be applied to cars having a series of transverse underframe members, such as holsters, cross bearers and the like, which project away from the center sill or sills to,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oet. so, isi v..

individual shaft in bearings which may be conveniently mounted on n the e cross bearers or other transverse underframe members. Gears also are to be carried by the individual shafts and they may be `integrally formed with the door-supporting disks. j.

Suitably supported,as from the-transverse underframe members, are sets of gears, those of each set meshing with thegears on dif-i ferentjactuating shafts. It is'fa further purI-` pose to employ a continuousop'erating shaft passing through and adapted to` drivef the various sets ofgears that in 'turn drive the gears on the individual actuating shafts, such operating shaft being, therefore, common tov all of the actuating shafts. f'

Due to themeshing gears of both theactul ating and operating shafts and the peculiar bearings for the actuating shafts, the door supporting members, or disks, the gears immediately aililiated therewith and the actuating shafts are adapted to respond to the gears on the operating shaft and to move under the doors to hold them closed. When desired, these parts may be moved free of the paths of the doors allowing the latter to drop and discharge lading. A

The various features are set forth herein-v after and all that is novel and which contributes to the usefulness of the invention comes, of course, within the scope thereof.

In the drawings the car dooroperating mechanism has been illustratedfas applied to one side of the car,'but it will be understood that it may beapplied to the other-thereof, and that it is susceptible Vto diEerent arrangements than that illustrated. Referring specifically to the parts, 1 indicates a center sill, projecting vlaterally from which are spaced transverse underframe members, such as the bolster and cross bear` ers 2 and 3, respectively. An angle, or other shaped member 4, extendslongitudinally of the car near the outer ends of the bolster and cross bearers, and may constitute one of the side sills of the car. Mounted upon, and wider than, so as to projectlaterally beyond each side thereof, are top cover plates 5 for the bolster and cross bearers 2`and 3, respectively.' Hinged tothe center silll, as at`6,

are a plurality of doors 7, which, wheny in secured to it, near its outer free edge, and preferably at its opposite sides, serrated contact nieinbers 9. TWO such Contact mern bers 9 have been shown as being applied to Y each door 7 and each is adapted to be en*n gaged by a serrated disk-like roller 10.

An individual actuating shaft 11 is supplied for each door and npon each of the shafts is mounted a pair of the dish-like members 10. The opposite ends of cach individual aotuating shaft ll are mounted in hearings. l2 and 13 preferahly `Carried by the cross bearers 3. The bearings 12 and 13 each havesimilar tread surfaces le, but, as illustrated in Fig- 2, may he otherwise diiierently fashioned and variously mounted upon the cross. bearers. 3. It is. obvious. that While bearings 12 are secured to the Webs. of cross bearers .3. and hearings l are mounted on the lower flanges thereof, the latter bearings maybe duplicates of bearings 12 and be se.- oured to the we hs ot the erosie. bearers, if deshred. Also rrlounted upon each individual aotnating shaft il is a pair et gear wheels l, and one of the advantages is that the ser-y rated disks 10 and gearsl. may be cast asintegers lt. Wilhhoiverer, he understood that a different number of door-.carried serrated contact niernbers 9 and disks 10 than that shown. may be used, that they may be diten ehtly .disposed and that the gears'l. may he .separately formed and not necessarily in .Close assooiaton with. disks 10.

Meshing With the gears 15 carried by the actuating shafts 11 are other gear Wheels 16.

As. hest shown iu Fig- 4f, it'. isoonvenient and economical to eolllleot pairs. of the gears 16. by a sleeve 1,7 and said Connected gears and .sleeve may he integrally east-4 Each sleeve, k17 forms. a 'ournal that is mounted in a hear-ieg 1,8, said bearings being secured to the. bottom flanges of the @KOSS bearers 3 aS .shown in Figa 2 and 4.. la the drawings, the bearings. '18 are illustrated as being of the. pillen7 hlooh type having removable caps. Bearings 1S are seoured to the bottoni flanges of eross vbearers hy seooring the aetuatiug shaft hearings 13 to those ilanges, ler ehoieel thereby making a ooninaot and mutual reieforoihg disposition of the two types of hear-ings aud theeross hearerlanges that are interposed therehetneeo..

. The eonueoted pairs or.v sets of gear wheels le. are adapted to he simultaneously f sioousve to Continuous operating shaft 1,9,

that extends through nluralityfor all of tlieull llt therefore. heooiues apparent that the Operating shaft. 1.9 is. .Common to all of the aotuat-iag shaits ll and through the gears 1.6 and 15. onerates shaftsy li in unison.

(iper-ating shaft i9. eXteods. toward the end. aud it. hier terminate at. anyl point; beyond the series olirsuoeeesivelyy spaced doors. Z that. are positioned between. the. suol oessivelu `spared.. transverse underfraine' members, said shaft having been shown as being extended to the end of the car. Such end, `r each end, of operating shaft 19. may be jonrnaled in a bearing 20 and have rigidly yrnonnted thereon a ratchet Wheel 'Z1 adapted to be engaged by a retroaction payvl 2v2 to prevent unintentional reverse rotation of said shaft.

Extending beyond ratchet wheel 21 is a portion of shaft 19 adapted to receive any suitable means for rotating' it, such means either being a lever or appropriate ratchet wheel. operating meehanisuif.

One' oi the door hinges 23, preferably the central one, may extend toward the forward endA of the door Y, stiffenihg sueh door, and in its. outer portion heilig heet downwardly to forni a hraolret 24.: in. which he mount.- edv an erefholt .Seeured to erevholt .25 of hraelret 2e oi eaoh door, is a Winding .ehaiii 2G., which, when .the door is olosed, ivor. .d upon the individual aotuatihg shaft. l1 i111.- mediately assooiated with that door, the opposite end. of the ohain heilig suitably cured to sueh shaft ll.-

The tread sur-faees 1.4. oi the bearings l2 and l are curved aud .oonoeutiio with the aXis ofthe operating shaft 19, from Whioh it is apparent that the serrated disks and the gear Wheels are rotatable concentrioally both about the oi individuel aotuating shafts ll and that of operating shaft 1.9.. The flange that furnishes the tread sur` face le is Curved to substantially Create a .slot-like formation in. eaoh bearing 12, the terminals of said flange beingspaced apart .so that the end of the actuating shaft may he readily inserted to rest upon the hearing surface 14.

There are bottoni cover plates extending under the Center sill l. at each cross hea-rer and outwardly toward the sides of the car for a considerabley distance. Under the center sill l, bottoni. cover plate 27 is in the form of a flat sheet, but as it progresses outwardly it changes into an inverted channelshaped structure 27a, to opposite sides. of

which ,are` secured depending stops 28..y

Said stops are provided With outstanding flanges adapted to receive side flanges of the doors T. when the. doorsare. in their open lad ing-.discharging positions. To prevent acci: dental distortion Of the structure, stops 2S mayV be .Connected by a tie plate 29.

The oper-ation of. the car door operating mechanism is as follows:

Assuming that the doors are in the closed position, as shown in the full lines in the drawings, theyr may be opened by, disengag-r ing pand 22 from ratchet 217 shown in Fig. l., A. lever. or other door-.operating mecha-V Ilism, is applied t0 the end of operating shaft 19 and caused to rotate it contr-aclockwise, thereby rotating the gear Wheels 16 inthe dlreotion.. 'lhe teeth of geen wheels asiat-rm 1`6applypower to 'the teeth of thefgears `15 carried on; the various individual` actuating shaft, rotating said gears 15 in 1a clockwise direction.V Diametrically opposite to the powerA application to gear YVwheels-15, the serrated disks lOlare in contact, V'when the doors are closed, with the serrated' surfaces of the doorearriedcontact members 9, and serrated-disks` 10-2be'ing rotated with gear wheels -15rol1 outwardly on the *serrated surfaces m,of contact ymembers), in much thesame'manner `asia hoop is rolled. That isI tosay, disks 10- make afftangentialcontact with the serrated surfaces of door-'carried Contact members 9 andthepower is applied to thefperipheryof the disks 10 to roll it on those contactmembers inthesame manner 4thata hoop rests upon` the ground and haspower applied to its periphery to roll it. Disks `10,"andconsequently gears 15 krand the :individual ,actuating shafts y 11, therefore,

revolveV and move outwardly, thefdoor-c'ar# ried contact member 9-and the door 7 them; selvesmoving downwardly as the disks 10 Inoveoutwardly, assisting in the latter'plor# tionofthefoutward movement of disks l10 in-causing said disks to assumelthe dot and dash positions indicated in rFigz. In traveling outwardly, thei'disks 10'10- tate! clockwise-and unwind thel chain from therindividual f door actuating shafts 11v until such tiineras the doors are free to passbeyondgdisks 10.y Thereafter, the Weight of thedoo'rs-and that ofthe ladingV theysus tain, continue torotate the combined disks 10 and 'gears 15 allowing the doorslto drop until brought tol rest byf'engaging the stopsp28. n Y

It isfto'belnotedlthatfwhilefthe teeth of gears 16 are circularly arranged, they,'never theless, correspond, in a sense, toa straight rack for the reason that the tread 'surface 14 of the bearings 12zand 13 are concentric withthe pitch circle of the teethof gears 16. Hence, `due to `theparallelism of-the tread lsurfaces 14 and the teeth of gear Wheels 16,1 notwithstanding their curvature, the gears 15 me shing:withgears16 may continuous'ly roll on the peripheryof gearsrl quite as freely and truly vas a gear "Wheel could roll upon a straight rack.- Resulting from this freedom to roll, the chains :Qtof

the falling doors ultimatelyroll the gears 15 Ion the actuating shafts 11 back intofthe full vline positions indicated in Fig. 3.

The doors having come 'to thedot and dash positions 4illustrated in Fig lB-:and the ladinglfhaving` been discharged, the doors may be returned to their Vclosed vfull'line positions byrturning Voperating shaft 19in a clockwise direction. The Weightlof the doors transmitted to 'the' individual actuatf ing shafts 11 by chains 26 will hold? said shafts' 11 fin tightfrictionalfcontact with theitread surfaces le. VDuel t0fthe1meshed positions engagement of gears -15- and 16, the clockwise/movement of -shaft'19 results in a contraclockwise rotation of thegears'wl, serrated disks 10 and the individual actuating shafts 11. rEhe latter rhafts, therefore, have no altei'vi-iativeV buty 'to' turn 'contraclockwise in frictional engagement with,v tread sur-l faces ll-of bea-rings 12 'and 13. There is vat this timeno fnullifying contacter serrated disks 10' withtanyf other 'paru-and actuating shafts 11 roll outwardly tothe dotganddash linef position Y indicated inv Fig.'- 3, meanwhile winding `up the chains. f i/Vli'enth'efcliains arefoffgreaterlength thanmay betaken up by the numberof{revolutions necessary to move actuating shafts 11 f'from f theirY inner travel? inwardly `rin taking- `up the remainder of y@the-chains 26. Consequently, the ser;

yratedndisks are again brought finto' the full lineclosedfposition indicated `in v Figiy 3, c

whereupon they may be drawn homeby contiiniedy pressure on the operating shaft 19.A Having assumed the positions illustrated inFFig. 3,1`the serrated'disks I again holdtherdoors' 7 in loadsustaining closed Because of the*y ability fof Vthe 1 gear wheels 15 torotate seas totrave'l.- on the `periphery ofgear wheellfl, 'they'are selfaccommodating lto f anlyimpulse's which would vtend Ito interfere with their rotation were they mounted for rotation alone." yAlsol the webs of 'the' cross lbearers proj ect `between the im dividual actuating 'shafts :11, isolating one from Ithe other, and because yof this yisolationy any1 particular shaft :may be removedforf repairs or substitution independently rofthe other shafts 11. y

`What1 claim is:

- Infcombinatiom a -drop door, spaced parallel 1 shafts and geared 'wheels coperatively connectingthe`y `same,sfone "of said wheels"lbeing'responsive to `another tobe f 2e 1n c'onibination, a drop door, spaced shafts,"f meshing' gear wheels coperatively connecting the same and door-liftingmeans operablefby one of `said shafts, cone of said wheels beingfinovable out of fthe pathof said door yandbeing adapted to turn the' last v `mentioneit Ashaft Ito close said door! and to shaft, another shaft extending with the first shaft, and means adapted to be actuated by the second-mentioned shaft in opposite directions to operate the first mentioned shaft and to cause it to traverse said tread surfaces and move said wheel into and out of door-closing position.

4E. In combination, successive Vdoors and winding shafts connected therewith, wheels mounted on said shafts, an operating shaft common to said winding shafts,land means operable by the operating shaft adapted to move said winding shafts and wheels out of the paths of said doors to permit them to drop and to move said wheels into position toy support said doors when closed.

5. In combination in a car, connected drop doors and winding shafts, spaced transverse underframe kmembers interposed between successive doors and winding shafts, bearings for said shafts on said members, wheels on said shafts, an operating shaft extending to be juxtaposed to the different winding shafts, and means operable by said operating shaft adapted to move said winding shafts and wheels to permit said doors to drop and also to cause said wheels tofhold the doors closed.

c 6. In combination in a car, successively arranged doors, an actuating shaft for each door connected therewith, door-supporting devices mounted on the actuating shafts, an operating shaft common to the actuating shafts, means operable by said operating shaft adapted to move said actuating shafts in opposite directions to positionsaid doorsuporting devices to either release or hold said doors closed. n

7. In combination, a hinged door having a contact member, a pair of parallel shafts, means for driving one shaft from the other, and a door-supporting device adapted to engage said contact member to hold said door closed and movable concentrically about the axes of both shafts to release said door. o f

l8. In combination, a hinged door, a contact member thereon, a shaft, fixedly positioned bearings for the ends thereof, acircular door-supporting member mounted on said shaft, and means for applying power to the periphery of'said door-supporting member to rotate the same and move it into and out ofcircumferential engagement with said contact member to, respectively, sup port and release said door. f '9. In combination, a hinged door having acontact member, iixedly positioned bearings having tread surfaces, a shaft connected to said door, a round door-supporting member mounted on said shaft and adapted to circumferentially engage said Contact member to hold said door closed, and means for applying power tothe periphery of said door-supporting member to rotate itv out of engagement with said contact member and to roll saidshaft on said tread surfaces to close said door.

10. In combination in a railway car, successive transverse underframe members, drop doors positioned between the same, individual shafts for and connected with said doors, an operating lshaft common tothe individual shafts, bearingson said underframe members for the various shafts, meshinggears connecting said operating and individual shafts and door-supporting disks on the latter shafts adapted to be moved under and also away from said doors.

l1, In combination in a railway car, a plurality of successively spaced doors, each having la plurality of Contact members, an actuating shaft for each door operably connected therewith, circular door-supporting members and gears mounted on said actuating shafts, a single operating shaft, gears thereon meshing with the gears on said actuating shafts, and transverse underframe members supporting said shafts and extending between said doors and the actuating shafts, said door-supporting members being movable into engagement with said contact members and also clearof said doors.

Y 12. In combination in a railway car, a transverse ,underframe member having a lower flange, a door to one side of said member, ay pair of parallel shafts one. operably connected with said door and the other being an operating shaft, gears on said shafts and in mesh, a round door-support on the shaft connected with the door, movable under and clear of saiddoor, and a bearing for keach shaft positioned, respectively, above and -below the iange of said underframe member.

13. In combination, a drop door, a contact member thereon, an actuating shaft operably connected with said door, an operating shaft parallel with said actuating shaft, a door-supporting member mounted on the actuating shaft and Lcomprising a roller adapted to engage said contact member to hold the door closed and a gear portion, and a gear on said operatingshaft meshing with the gear yportion of said door-suporting member adapted to move the last named lmember clear of said door.

14. In combination, a pair of spaced doors, a rigid frame member therebetween, an individual .actuating shaft for each door, door-supporting members and gears mounted on adjoining ends of said actuatin shafts, a sleeve member supported from lsaid frame-member and/provided with spaced gears each meshing with a gear on al different actuating shaft and an operating shaft passing through said sleeve member in driving/relation thereto. t

15. In i combination, a pairv of spaced doors, a rigid frame member therebetween,

door supporting and actuating means including an individual shaft for each door and gears on adjoiningends 0f said shafts, a bearing on said frame member, an integral member Comprising a sleeve mounted in said hearing and spaced gears each in mesh With the gear of one actuating shaft only. Y

16. In combination, a pair of doors having Contact members, door-supportng-andactuating means including an aetuatin shaft for each door and integrally forme gears and disks on adjoining end portions of said shafts, for engagement With said Contact members, a sleeve having integral gears meshing With the gears of said actuat- 15 ALLEN E. OSTRANDER. v

Witnesses;

L. V. JOYCE, J. B. D. THOMPSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington. D. C. 

